Following my New Year’s post from a few months ago, I recently pledged to give away at least 1% of my income every year, to charity.

The intention behind putting this post up here, is to hopefully make some of the readers of this blog think about giving away more to help others. I find that it helps to make giving a regular part of your life, something you do as a matter of course.

I have to admit, I was strongly influenced by the ideas of Peter Singer. Here is a three minute video he made that explains some of the reasons I am doing this.

Here are some of the criteria I had while picking charities:
- Charity must help poor people, preferably in developing countries. Donations to art museums, for instance, don’t count.
- At least 75% of funds raised by the charity must go directly towards the cause. I’m ok with the rest being spent on administration and fund-raising.
- Must not be part of a religious institution.
- The impact of the charity must be measurable. They should have a track record of backing away from ideas or projects that don’t work.
- While picking them, I tried to pick organizations that I can form a partnership with, get vested in, and stay involved with over many years.
- It’s important to look at the numbers and efficacy of the charity. I tried not to be swayed by emotional appeals. I found that a lot of very worthy sounding causes don’t really get much done. So it’s important to do the research.

Givewell is a good resource if you want to learn how to critically evaluate charities.

So, these are some of the organizations and causes that will be getting money from me over the next 12 months. Most donations will be as regular, pre-authorised direct withdrawals from my bank account, so I don’t forget.
I welcome suggestions and comments on picking charities. Thanks.